Landlord Section 21 Notice

Landlord Section 21 Notice

Landlord Section 21 Notice – A landlord has a legal right to obtain his property back at the finish of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy[1], as detailed under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and amended by the Housing Act of 1996. But landlords need to be aware that in order to exercise their right for re-possession of their property at the conclusion of a tenancy, they must follow the right legal procedure, which involves serving a document known as a Section 21 Notice.

Landlords are allowed to issue their tenants with this Section 21 Notice without providing any reasons for terminating the tenancy agreement.

A Section 21 Notice to quit can only be exercised to regain possession of a property at the end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. Should a landlord wish to regain possession before the end of this agreed term, he must demonstrate that certain conditions have been met for it to be achievable. In order to do this, the Landlord must first issue their tenant with a Section 8[2] notice to quit.

Landlord Section 21 Notice

Section 21 is split into sub-sections with separate procedures to be followed contingent on whether the Section 21 Notice is served before the fixed term has come to an end or whether the tenancy has become a periodic tenancy[3]. A Section 21 Notice must be served before a court will issue any possession order, however a Section 21 Notice can be issued at any point during a fixed tenancy or during a periodic tenancy.

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 was amended by the Housing Act 1996 to include the requirement that the landlord provides tenants of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy with a minimum of two months’ notice declaring that possession of the property is sought, in writing. These 2 months begin when the tenant receives the notice, not when the notice was written or posted.

Landlord Section 21 Notice

A few points on the timescales of a Landlord Section 21 Notice.

Regaining possession using this section of the Housing Act 1988 may not occur during the fixed term of the tenancy; however the notice may be served at any point throughout the fixed term as long as the tenant is given the minimum of 2 months’ notice. The tenant will not be required to give up possession of a property until a minimum of 2 months after the Section 21 Notice to quit was served on them. This includes Section 21 Notices served up until the final day of the fixed term.

A notice may be issued more than 2 months before the conclusion of a tenancy but it cannot be dated to expire on or before the last day of the tenancy. For instance, if a Section 21 Notice was issued 4 months before the tenancy was due to end, the notice must be dated for after the final day of the fixed term.

[1] Type of assured tenancy which gives landlords a right to repossess their property at the end of the term

[2] Tenants who have breached the terms of their tenancy agreement may be evicted using a Section 8 Notice.

[3] When a fixed term of the tenancy ends, unless a new fixed term is agreed upon a tenancy automatically becomes a statutory periodic tenancy.